This thesis considers readdressing previous proposals for developing an urban riverfront presence in downtown Athens, Georgia. There have been several proposals for connecting the downtown core to the North Oconee River. As infill development continues downtown, the opportunity for sensible urban expansion to the river edge exists. Athens has a similar history to many other American cities founded on an edge of water. It includes the familiar progression of founding the city based on the river asset, exploiting its water resource to power a manufacturing economy, and ultimately neglecting it after technological change shifted the markets, leaving the river an abandoned environmental brownfield, disconnected from the urban realm. The goal is to provide information, site design proposal and strategies that will create a motive for Athens to consider smart development options to connect the downtown to its river, establishing an urban river presence.